Maharaja is derived from the sanskrit words mahat, meaning “great”, and rajan, meaning “king”. Much like its namesake, this imperial IPA is regal, intense and mighty. With hops and malts as his servants, he rules both with a heavy hand. The Maharaja flaunts his authority over a deranged amount of hops: tangy, vibrant and pungent along with an insane amount of malted barley – fashioning a dark amber hue and exquisite malt essence. Welcome to his kingdom!

Maharaja opens with a nose befitting a 102 IBU hop monster, being full of grapefruit, grapefruit rind, syrupy pine resin, dandelion stem, rose hip, mint, lemon, eucalyptus, and a touch of anise, seemingly hitting all of the possible hop aromas all at once, and thus instantly setting itself up as a hophead’s dream beverage. A healthy malt base lingers just beneath, providing a nice offsetting mélange of floury baguette, toast crust, biscuit, and fresh wheat, along with nice orange, berry, and apricot fruit esters, and enough brown sugar to make the rim slightly sticky and the vapors almost palpable. The nose as a whole features more bitter plant-stem aromas than sugars, but not excessively so, and so comes across as nicely balanced and enticing.

On the tongue, the beer opens with a huge slam of grapefruit rind, pine resin, lemon, mint, eucalyptus, anise, and dandelion stem from the hops, but joined in almost equal force by an orange liqueur, berry, and apricot sugar fest from the fruit esters. Breads are more difficult to find here than on the nose, but do still provide a toast and biscuit undercurrent, as well as touches of lightly burnt bread and toasted pecan which, when combined with a sharp peppery edge, help offset the sugars. The high 10.17% ABV does add a vodka-like alcoholic tinge, as well as a distinct vapor left in the mouth after swallowing, somewhat detracting from the flavors, but not overly so. The aftertaste is mainly bitter, plant stem hops, with a touch of sugar and bread remaining, and lingers on the tongue for a long time. Mouthfeel is a syrupy medium to medium-high, and carbonation is medium.

As a whole, this is an excellent Imperial IPA, and while the hops and bitterness are most certainly present in strong enough quantities that anyone not already familiar with 100+ IBU beers should drink with caution, for the well-acquainted this will prove a taste fest nonpareil. Highly recommended.

The flavor is, of course, dominated by hops. Grapefruit and citrus pith lead the way, battering the palate with zesty lemon and tropical fruits. Pine and resin carry through into a decidedly bitter, slightly sprucey finish. Bready malt ties together the flavor profile, but is not a major player.